Condenser



Dec. 2, 1930; P, B SADTLER 1,783,369

CONDENSER Filed Oct. 1, 192 2 Sheets-Sheet l I .772W/2f0/ 7721/1 25. Saa'tlar QHLMJI-M B law, aw

Dec. 2, 1930. P. B. SADTLER CONDENSER,

Fi led Oct. 1, 1928 2 Sheets-Shea 2 Patented Dec. 2, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PHILIP B. SADTLER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO SWENSON EVAPORA'IOR COM- PANY, OF HARVEY, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS CONDENSER Application filed October 1, 1928. Serial No. 309,393.

My invention relates to evaporating and condensing apparatus.

In carryin out the operations of evaporation and con ensatiomsuch for example as in the fractional distillation of petroleum, it is the usual practice to impart the heat for vaporization in one apparatus, commonly called an evaporator, conduct the "apors through pipes to another apparatus, and in this other apparatus, commonly called acondenser, to withdraw heat from the vapors to reduce them to a liquid state. Such equipment is ordinarily called a still and it possesses several disadvantages. For example, the interconnecting piping is subject to expan sion and contraction, necessitating, where the length is considerable, the provision of expansion joints to prevent injury to the equipment. Furthermore, the equipment re uires an excessive amount of floor space.

ne of the objects of my invention is to provide a combined evaporating and condensing apparatus.

Another object is to provide an improved still.

Another object is to provide a still that does not require any external piping between the evaporating and condensing units.

A further object is to provide a still that will occupy relatively little ground area.

Another object is to provide a still that is more eflective in imparting heat to the treated liquid and in withdrawing heat from the vapors. Other objects and advantages will hereinafter appear.

One embodiment of the invention, particularly adapted for steam as the heating medium and water for the cooling medium, is

4 illustrated in the accompanying drawings, although it will be readily understood that other fluid heating and cooling media may be employed.

In the drawings: Fig. 1 shows a complete still in elevation,

tively small diameter tubes.

with the heating element therein outlined by dotted lines;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical section through the condensing unit of the still;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section on the line' 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged section on the line &4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of one of the condenser elements;

Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5; and

Fig. 7 is a section on the line 77 of Fig. 4. In general, the still illustrated in the drawing comprises a lower evaporating or vaporizing unit A and an upper condensing unit B mounted above and directly upon the lower unit. Heat is imparted to and the treated liquid, is vaporized in the evaporating unit A and'the vapors are cooled and condensed in condenser unit B.

Unit A comprises a generally cylindrical metal body C forming a chamber in which evaporation takes place, a heating element D, a motor driven pump E for forcing the liquid to be treated through the heater and a circulation pipe F for conveying the liquid from the evaporating chamber to the pump. The preferred form of heating element is of the vertical, small-diameter-long-tube type set forth in the application of Philip B. Sadtler, Serial No. 121,452 filed July 9, 1926, and comprises in general an elongated tubular steam drum enclosing a series of long re1a- The heating steam enters the drum through a steam inlet 10. flows through the drum about-the outside of the tubes, and leaves the drum through a steam outlet 11. The drum may be provided with an outlet such as 12 for the withdrawal of such un-condensable gases as may accompany the heating medium. The liquid to be treated is withdrawn from the bottom of the evaporatorbody, flows throufgh pipe F to the pump and by the pump is orced-at a high on ids.

entrance velocity into the lower ends of the heating element tubes. The liquid passes upwardly through the tubes at an initially high and rapidly increasing velocity to be projected from the upper open ends thereof back into the evaporator body. The supply of liquid undergoing treatment is replenished through a valved supply pipe 13. The vapors are withdrawn from the evaporator body through an outlet connection 14. The evaporator unit may be supported by a suitable metal framework or masonry, which is not shown because it may be of any suitable approved type.

The condenser unit B has a flanged vapor inlet 15 in its bottom (see particularly Figs. 1 and 2) which is connected to the evaporator unit outlet 14. Additional support and rigidity is given to the superposed mounting of the units by suitable'bracing 16.

Referring particularly to Figs. 2 to 4 the condenser unit comprises an elongated tubular outer metal shell 20 that has its lower end extending into a condensate chamber 21. Shell 20 is supported by chamber 21 and a tight joint is made therebetween by providing them with complementary annular flanges 22 and 23, respectively which may be bolted or otherwise suitably secured together. The flanged vapor inlet 15 surrounds an opening in the center of and is securely joined to the bottom wall of chamber 21. chamber is provided with outlets 24 for the withdrawal of liquid condensate and with side openings, closed by removable covers 25, which serve for cleaning and removal of sol- It is also provided with a vacuum con nection 26 through which the desired vacuum may be applied to the still and evaporator.

Fitting u on vapor inlet 15 and extending upwardly t rough condensate chamber 21 well toward the top of shell 20 is a vapor stack 30. In order to conserve the heat in the ascending vapor and thereby prevent condensate from falling back into the evaporator, stack 30 may be insulated. This insulating can be done, as shown, by making the stack double walled and packing the space between the walls with a suitable heat insulating material, such as silocel. The lower end of the insulating space is closed by flange 31 whereby the upper art is attached to the lower part. Then a er the silocel is poured into the space, the upper end maybe closed by an annular plate 32 welded to the inner and outer side walls.

The annular chamber between the vapor stack and the outer shell is filled with a large number of tubes through which a cooling medium is circulated to condense the vapors rising from the evaporator unit. These cooling medium tubes are arranged in concentric layers or groups about the vapor stack, as shown most c early in Fig. 3. The upper ends of these tubes are fitted into and retained by tube his condensate sheets 33 and 34, as will be presently explained and their lower ends are carried on a lattice-Work like support at the bottom of the vapor stack.

This support comprises a number of bracket plates 35 welded to the inside of shell 20 and to the outside of stack 30 and a series of circularly curved rods 36 and radially disposed spacers 37. The rods and spacers may be welded or otherwise suitably secured together. Rods 36 are provided with holes therethrough for holding screws 38 that thread into the bottoms of the tubes to anchor them in spaced relation at their lower ends, as will be hereinafter more specifically explained. The lattice work support for the lower ends of the larger outer tubes aflords suflicient movement to accommodate the contraction and expansion of these tubes while serving to retain them in proper position.

- In order to obviate the necessit for providing openings through shell 20 or the application and removal of the cooling medium, the cooling tubes are so arranged that the cooling medium enters and leaves them at the same end, preferably the upper ends. Thus the cooling medium, such as water, enters the tubes through a distributing drum or header 40 and leaves the same by way of a discharge drum or header 41. Drums 40 and 41 are located upon the upper end of shell 20 in superposed relation, drum 40 being above drum 41. Tube sheet 33 is anchored between drum 41 and shell 20 by complementary flanges 42 and tube sheet 34 is similarly anchored between drums 40 and 41 by complementary flanges 43. These flanges are securely and tightly bolted or otherwise secured together with the respective tube sheets between them and therefore serve also to hold drums 40 and 41 in place. Each of the cooling tubes is composed of an inner tube 44 and an outer tube 45, as shown most clearly in Fig. 5. Each inner tube 44 extends through and is tightly sealed to tube sheet 34, and preferably is made removable by expanding or welding or otherwise tightly joining the same with a threaded collar 46 that can be screwed into the tube sheet with a tight joint.

Each outer tube 45 extends through and is tightly fitted to tube sheet 33, by expanding or welding the same thereto and is closed at its bottom by a threaded plug 46 that tightly screws upon the lower end thereof. Each plug 46 is provided with a threaded socket for the reception of an anchoring screw 38. Each inner tube extends almost to the bottom of its corresponding outer tube and may be held in spaced relation therefrom interminate the ends by suitable means such as the projecting lugs 47. Drum 40 is closed by a removable dome shaped cover 50 and the cooling medium is supplied thereto, from a suitable source, through an inlet nozzle 51. In order to insure a uniform distribution of the cooling medium throughout all of the tubes the end of nozzle 51 is curved upwardly so as to discharge the cooling medium against end of the cooling tubes, passes downwardly through the smaller or inner set of tubes 44, then upwardly through the larger or outer set of tubes in indirect contact with the vapors to be condensed and out through drum 41 and discharge 52. By this construction it is unnecessary to provide any connections through the side of the shell of the condenser unit and the cooling pipes may be readily removed from the top for inspection, repair, and cleaning, and may be replaced in the same manner, Furthermore, the serious problem of expansion and contraction encountered where long tubes are sealed into tube sheets at opposite ends is overcome.

i In operation the liquid to be evaporated and then condensed is delivered into the evaporator unit C of the apparatus through inlet 13, and is rapidly forced to circulate through pipe F, pump E, and upwardly through thetubes of heater D. The vapors driven oif by the heater flow upwardly through stack, 30 into the condenser unit B where the come in contact with the cooled tubes, the tu es being cooled by a cooling medium flowing into the condenser unit through nozzle 51 passes downwardly through the smaller tubes 44 and then upwardly through the larger tubes 45 to the discharge 52. The condensate collects in chamber 21 from whenge it may bewithdrawn through outlets 24. The vacuum being applied at chamber 21 which is at the bottom of shell 20 causes the vapors to descend in the annular space between the stack and shell where it is effectively cooled by the cooling medium that flows through the outer effective tubes in the reverse direction. Of course if desired,and it may under some conditions be the better practiee,the cooling medium may be, caused to flow downwardly in the larger outer tubes and upwardly through the inner smaller tubes. With such an arrangement drum 41 isconnected to the cooling medium supply and drum 40 to waste or a recooler.

Although the apparatus has been described and its operation explained in combination with steam as the heating medium and water as the cooling or condensing medium, other heating and cooling media may be used. For

example, the heater may be supplied with the hot vapor from diphenyl or diphenyl oxide, substances that have a relatively high boiling point, that are stable at relatively high temperatures and whose vapors are very efiective in transferring heat to metal and do not attack ordinary metals.

Having thus illustrated and explained the nature and one embodiment of my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is as follows:

1. A condenser unit for a still comprising, a tubular body for mounting vertically upon the still evaporator and having a bottom inlet for communication with the vapor chamber of the evaporator, a vapor stack rising 'from the bottom inlet to a point in the upper region of the tubular body, superposed cooling medium distributing and discharge drums mounted on the top of the body and two sets of cooling medium tubes supported by the drums in the space in the body about the vapor stack, the tubes of one set communicating with the chamber of one of the drums and the tubes of the other set surrounding those of the first set and communicating with the chamber of the other drum,the inner tubes extending almost to the bottom of and there opening into the outer tubes and the outer tubes being closed at their lower ends.

2. A condenser unit for mounting directly upon the evaporator unit of a still, comprising, a tubular body having a bottom inlet for communication with the vapor outlet of the evaporator, a vapor stack rising from the bottom inlet of the body to a point in the upper region thereof, a drum mounted on the upper end of the body, a second drum mounted on the top of the first mentioned drum, a lower tube sheet separating the first mentioned drum and the body, an upper tube sheet separating the two drums, a series of outer cooling medium tubes closed at the bottom and carried by the lower tube sheet in the space surroundmg the vaporstack, a series of inner cooling medium tubes open at the bottom and suspended from the upper tube sheet and projecting into the outer tubes, and connections for supplying a fluid coolin medium to one of the drums and for wit drawing I the medium from the other drum.

3. A vapor condenser comprisin a tubular body having a vapor inlet ad acent its bottom, a vapor stack projecting .upwardly into the body from the inlet a lower tube sheet closing the upper end oi the body and having a series of outer tubes suspended therefrom in the s ace about the vapor stack, the lower ends of outer tubes being closed, a drum mounted on the upper end of the body with its chamber in communication with the outer tubes, an upper tube sheet closing the upper end of the drum and having a series of inner tubes suspended therefrom and lying within the, outer tubes, the lower ends of the inner tubes being open, a second drum mounted upon the upper tube sheet with its chamdrawing the medium from the other drum.

4. A vapor condenser comprising, a tubular body having a vapor inlet at its bottom, a vapor stack extending upwardly in the body from the inlet, a series of closed bottom cooling medium tubes surrounding the vapor stack, a tube sheet for suspending the tubes from their upper ends, a lattice-like frame secured to the body and the vapor stack to support and space the lower ends of the tubes, :1 series of open bottom tubes lying within the closed bottom tubes, and means for supplying a fluid heating medium to the upper ends of one series of tubes and withdrawing the medium from the upper ends of the other series of tubes.

5. A vapor condenser comprising an elongated tubular body with a vapor inlet at its bottom, a vapor stack rising in the body from the inlet to the upper regionofthebody,acon-- densate collecting chamber at the bottom of the body and through which the vapor stack extends, a pair of superposed drums mounted on the top of the body, a series of outer tubes having their bottoms closed and their upper ends in communication with one of the drums, a series of-inner tubes lying within the outer tubes and having their lower ends open and their upper ends in communication with the other drum, and connections for taking a fluid cooling medium to one of the drums and fmm the other drum to circulate the medium through the tubes.

6. A vapor condenser'comprising, a bottom condensate chamber, an open bottom tubular body rising from and in communication with the condensate chamber, a vapor inlet stack passing through the condensate chamber into the tubular body and opening into the body in the upper region thereof,-a series of double tubes in the space between the vapor stack and the body, each double tube consisting of an outer tube open at the to and closed at the bottom, and an inner tu e open at both ends and lying within the outer tube so that a fluid cooling medium may flow from one tube into the other, and means for suspending all of the tubes by their upper ends and leading a cooling medium to and from the same.

7. A vapor condenser having a tubular body, a series of inner tubes and a series of outer tubes within the body, tube sheets for suspending both sets of tubes in s aced relation from the upper ends thereo a latticework frame located below the tubes, and a series of screws passing through said frame into the bottoms of the-outer tubes to regain the lower ends thereof in spaced relaion.

8. A vapor condenser having a tubular body, a vapor stack located within and centrally of the body, a plurality of closed bottom cooling medium tubes suspended from the top in concentric series about the vapor 

